Geospatial Automation Specialist - Austin, Texas Metropolitan Area

Who We Are · For over thirty years, SAM has built a reputation as a trusted, knowledgeable, and innovative partner. Our licensed professionals transform petabytes of complex spatial data into intelligent insights in a holistic Managed Geospatial Services (MGS) framework. As North ...

Job description

Who We Are

For over thirty years, SAM has built a reputation as a trusted, knowledgeable, and innovative partner. Our licensed professionals transform petabytes of complex spatial data into intelligent insights in a holistic Managed Geospatial Services (MGS) framework. As North America's premiere MGS company, SAM provides practical, precise, and high-fidelity solutions designed to enhance decision-making, mitigate risks, achieve strategic objectives, and drive costs out of our client's business. Our vision is to advance spatial data acquisition, improve analysis capabilities, and develop predictive analytics to redefine and transform how infrastructure assets are developed and managed throughout their lifecycles.

Your Impact at SAM

We are seeking a Geospatial Automation Specialist to design, build, and maintain scalable automation solutions for large geospatial datasets, with a primary focus on lidar point clouds, aerial imagery, and derived products. This role combines geospatial expertise with hands-on software development to transform complex, manual GIS workflows into robust, repeatable, and high-performance automated systems. You will work closely with project teams to translate operational geoprocessing workflows into reliable, production-ready automated workflows.

• Design, implement, and maintain automated lidar and GIS processing pipelines
• Develop tools and utilities using C++ (Qt 6) and Python
• Create and support ArcGIS geoprocessing workflows using ArcPy
• Optimize performance for large-scale datasets and point clouds
• Collaborate with GIS analysts and domain experts to translate operational needs into reliable automation solutions
• Participate in architecture decisions and help define best practices for geospatial automation

What You Bring to SAM

• Preferred Bachelors Degree in Computer Science, Geographic Information Systems, Geomatics, or other related technical field
• Four (4) plus year in related experience
• Strong experience with C++ (preferably Qt 6 or Qt 5)
• Proficiency in Python for automation and scripting
• Hands-on experience with ArcPy and geoprocessing
• Experience with geospatial libraries such as GDAL, PDAL, and Esri ArcPy
• Solid understanding of geospatial data concepts, coordinate systems, and data formats
• Experience working with large datasets and automated pipelines
• Familiarity with version control systems (e.g., Git)

Preferred Skills

• Lidar processing (classification, segmentation, feature extraction)
• PostgreSQL / PostGIS and SQL
• JavaScript or PHP for spatial or web-based geospatial applications
• Experience with parallel processing, multithreading, or large-scale workflow optimization
• Feature extraction utilizing AI/ML from imagery and/or lidar datasets
• Experience deploying or supporting geospatial workflows in cloud or hybrid environments
• Experience with project management tools such as Jira

Our Perks

• Health and Wellness Benefits: BlueCross BlueShield health insurance coverage begins the month after your hire date, Free Vision + Dental plans for employees, company-paid premiums for Long-term disability/Life Insurance (with HSA + FSA plans), SAM Cares program focused on holistic well-being
• Financial Benefits: Employee Referral Rewards Program of $1K, $2,500 or $5K, Access to Ramsey Smart Dollar to support financial goals and retire with confidence, Fidelity retirement plans with a 5% company match, tuition reimbursement, optional cellphone stipend
• Work-Life Balance: Paid time off including vacation/sick/holidays, parental leave to support families
• Professional Development: Customized career development plan for licensing and certifications, Project Manager Business Academy, CAD Training Program, Individual Development Plans/Career Check-Ins, SAM WINS - our initiative for women-focused leadership and development, Milestone Anniversary Recognition, SAMbassador mentorship program
• Perks and Discounts: Access to "Perks at Work" for discounts on wellness + travel + leisure and everyday purchases, company-sponsored events, free office snacks
• Culture and Awards/Achievements: SAM Named 2023 Top Workplace USA for Second Consecutive Year; 2023 SAM Ranks No. 88 on ENR Top 500 Design Firms

EEO

SAM is an EOE/Affirmative Action Employer M/F/D/V. SAM also participates in the federal E-Verify Program.